Blobby thing?

So I just had a litter born this morning, discovered them shortly after they were born as everyone still had that just freshly born warmth about them.



Then I discovered this... underneath them..



I looked at it and poked it then discovered a partially formed dead kit among the mass of flesh, fur, and hay. I outlined it below.



I'm pretty sure the discolored lump above it was another kit (this doe is known to birth 8 kits regularly so 6 is odd for her)

I scooped up the live healthy kits along with any clean fur mom pulled, dumped the nest, and sanatized the HECK out of it. The flies are thick here right now and I didn't want to risk fly strike with the new popples. Could the spike in temperature we had here the past week or so have caused this kit (s) to die in utero? The one looked like it was maybe 20 days along maybe a little further. Formed enough that I could identify a face and a foot upon closer inspection.

I doubt the temperatures had anything to do with it. If the doe suffered heat exhaustion, she might possibly have lost the whole litter, but the temperature in utero would have been the same for all the kits. Let's face it, a certain percentage of fetuses are just not viable and some die during developement. I think it likely happens more often than we are aware of, but many does clean up the nest immediately after kindling and we may not see the evidence.

I wouldn't worry. Six healthy kits is still a nice litter and with less competition at the milk bar, they should grow very nicely.

MaggieJ":3hcq1yex said:

I doubt the temperatures had anything to do with it. If the doe suffered heat exhaustion, she might possibly have lost the whole litter, but the temperature in utero would have been the same for all the kits. Let's face it, a certain percentage of fetuses are just not viable and some die during developement. I think it likely happens more often than we are aware of, but many does clean up the nest immediately after kindling and we may not see the evidence.

I wouldn't worry. Six healthy kits is still a nice litter and with less competition at the milk bar, they should grow very nicely.

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Thank you! Should I be concerned about any infections or anything? Or just monitor her?

I'd just monitor her. I'm not experienced with uterine infections or retained kits/placental material, but I would think there would be discharge or odour if an infection developed.

yeah, I get those blobs all the time with dead kits. I've also showed up to all live kits and the blob. Pretty sure it's just a placenta. Sometimes moms just miss something during cleanup. Sometimes they're just too pooped after birth to really fuss. Sometimes it's just a "that doe" thing. In my case, I find my current rabbits are generally pretty lazy about clean up so I always have to feel around the nest for anything they left. Which is honestly pretty regular. Unsure if it's just a rex or e angora thing or my specific lines but all of my current rabbits seem to leave their dead kits for me to collect. When I had NZW or meat mutts they never did that, my only hint there were DOAs with them was gross bits found under their cages. It's never been an issue for me though. Honestly makes for more accurate head counts since it allows me to count how many DOAs a particular doe might drop.

Deer Heart":2ezuf16q said:

yeah, I get those blobs all the time with dead kits. I've also showed up to all live kits and the blob. Pretty sure it's just a placenta. Sometimes moms just miss something during cleanup. Sometimes they're just too pooped after birth to really fuss. Sometimes it's just a "that doe" thing. In my case, I find my current rabbits are generally pretty lazy about clean up so I always have to feel around the nest for anything they left. Which is honestly pretty regular. Unsure if it's just a rex or e angora thing or my specific lines but all of my current rabbits seem to leave their dead kits for me to collect. When I had NZW or meat mutts they never did that, my only hint there were DOAs with them was gross bits found under their cages. It's never been an issue for me though. Honestly makes for more accurate head counts since it allows me to count how many DOAs a particular doe might drop.

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It's odd that she would leave it though, this doe is very tidy and keeps a very clean nest! She even begins the clean up process on doa kits. Do you think the dead fetus kit could have made her feel gross and as such she did not clean up like normal? Kits as still fat and sassy BTW, I think I may see a tort among them. The pink one has more of a peachy tan color to it now.

IF you found them almost immediately after they were born, she may just not have had time to finish cleaning up. Sometimes they kindle so quickly that just getting the sac open is all they have time for before the next one is on its way out. IF it was a large enough kit, she may have just pushed it off to the side to remove more thoroughly later. My experienced does seem to know that I will be there sooner than not to help them clean up, and honestly, Im happy if they clean up the placenta as I know its good for them, but I'll remove the kit for my own queasiness.

SixGun":1crejrho said:

IF you found them almost immediately after they were born, she may just not have had time to finish cleaning up. Sometimes they kindle so quickly that just getting the sac open is all they have time for before the next one is on its way out. IF it was a large enough kit, she may have just pushed it off to the side to remove more thoroughly later. My experienced does seem to know that I will be there sooner than not to help them clean up, and honestly, Im happy if they clean up the placenta as I know its good for them, but I'll remove the kit for my own queasiness.

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How big are placentas usually? I've opened a doe up who was a few days off from giving birth once and I don't remember them being to big. This thing looked like a mass of congealed tissue half the size of a dinner plate

Placentas are usually between half and a third of the size of the kit.

A mass that large would concern me, as I'm surprised she got it out. If it occurred in a future litter I think I'd retire her.

SixGun":1wpgnwnt said:

Placentas are usually between half and a third of the size of the kit.

A mass that large would concern me, as I'm surprised she got it out. If it occurred in a future litter I think I'd retire her.

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It looked like it was a mass of different tissue melded together. A lot of it was tangled up with fur, hay, and shavings. Maybe it was three or four different things that got tangled together? I checked out her vent and it looked normal. Even gave it a good whiff this morning (smelling bunny butts, what a fun activity lol) and besides smelling slightly of urine nothing smelled foul. But I'll keep that in mind. I was planning on retiring her after one more litter anyway as she deserves it for being a great momma and foster mother. Her daughter has since taken up the title after not only caring for her own litter of two she took on 5 abandoned kits from one doe and helped nurse the 3 youngsters from a different doe who was having milk production issues for her first litter.

The nest box with its stickiness and hay can definitely create a mess that you get rid of in one swoop.